Lucy tried to steady her hands the minute she heard his voice. Natsu's footsteps echoed throughout the house, and she listened as he exchanged a few loud but indiscernible words with Happy before making his way up the stairs. She'd had a suspicion-and she'd suspected they both had-but it didn't make the realization any less overwhelming. For the past few days she'd felt strange, passing it off as one of those common bugs that occasionally went around the guild. But a part of her had thought too-maybe even known-what had really been cause.
Now she knew for sure.
The door opened and Natsu barged into the room as he always did, tossing a small bag onto the bed beside her. "Got the stuff you asked for," he said cheerfully as a bottle of medicine threatened to roll out of the bag and onto the floor. "Porlyusica gave me some extra stuff too, but I don't really know why. I bought half the store."
"Thanks," Lucy muttered, and he paused, clearly picking up on her tone.
"You all right?" he asked, and Lucy gathered her hands in her lap. She opened her mouth and closed it again, and he approached her, gently resting his hand on her head and ruffling her hair. "Still not feeling well, huh?"
"I'm fine," she said, taking a deep and shaky breath. Natsu froze for a minute, his hand resting atop her head before sitting down beside her.
"Luce...what's wrong?"
She smiled almost incredulously at that. It seemed ironic that despite all that had transpired in their lives and within the guild these past ten years that she could be struggling to tell him something she'd already in some way known. All of the changes that had occurred from the moment she'd joined the guild had been for the best, and he'd been the first one to take her hand and lead her there. Life ever since had been a nonstop adventure, from the jobs they'd taken, to the daily shenanigans of the guild, war with enemy mages, and even eventually love. In truth, the bands she and Natsu wore on their fourth fingers had always seemed to her like a symbol of something that hadn't changed much at all over the years, with only the way they'd approached their bond evolving into something she never could've expected back when they'd first met.
"Luce?" He sounded genuinely concerned, and she smiled, bringing a hand to her forehead.
"I just...don't even know how to say it."
"Just say it. Just like you say anything else."
"This isn't anything else," Lucy muttered, feeling her heartbeat pounding violently in her chest. She was visibly shaking now, with some flood of emotion she didn't really know how to pinpoint.
"You're kinda freaking me out, Lu-"
"I'm pregnant." The words slipped from her mouth before she could stop them in a voice that sounded foreign and unlike her own. The silence that followed seemed even more sudden, and still shaking, she took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant," she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper. She stared down at her hands, taking in the trembling pink emblem that stood out against her skin. Natsu was quiet for a moment before he spoke.
"You sure?" he asked finally, whether in shock or dumbly or both she wasn't sure.
"I'm sure," she said, and he let out a low, even breath.
"And it's mine?"
"Natsu!" she hissed, and to her surprise, he let out a nervous laugh.
"Not the time for jokes, then. Got it."
"This is serious."
"I know."
Lucy glanced up as he slid his hands over hers, and when she saw him, something in his expression began to soothe her. Natsu had always worn his feelings on his face clear as day. Whether he was angry, sad, happy, or afraid it showed, and the look he wore now was one that she thought she understood even if it was entirely new to her. "You look…" she paused, blinking at the lopsided smile that began to cross his face. Laughing despite herself, she shook her head. "Did you have a feeling, too?"
"I thought you smelled different," he admitted, and she pursed her lips. "Couldn't figure out why, though. I just thought we were being careful enough."
"'Enough,'" Lucy repeated slowly, "being the key word. Obviously we weren't." At all, she reminded herself, recalling all that had transpired when they'd returned from their last long and exhausting quest. That in itself made the heat trickle up to her cheeks, and she groaned, hanging her head again. She felt him release her hands and wrap his arm around her shoulders, giving her a tight but gentle squeeze.
"You're not upset about it, are you?" he asked, something in his tone catching her attention. "I mean, I kind of thought when we talked about it…"
"No." Lucy let out a labored breath, shaking her head slightly. Her vision had begun to blur, and she raised her head again as a single tear threatened to fall down her cheek. "No, I'm not upset at all. I'm just…"
"Scared?"
She met his gaze. "Aren't you, too?"
"Yeah." A smile crossed his face then, one that almost made her laugh at how starkly it contrasted the uncertainty in his eyes. "I'm freakin' terrified."
"Me too." She laughed as she wiped the tear that finally fell away. "Other than that, I don't really know what to feel."
"Me either," he admitted, and releasing her slightly, he fell back on the bed with his arms folded behind his head. "I mean...geez. It's a lot to think about."
"It is."
"I don't know if I…" his voice trailed, and she watched as his chest rose and fell. "You know, I didn't really have a normal upbringing."
"And I did?" she teased, and he chuckled at that. She felt a flutter at the glance he gave her that followed. How he could muster it now she didn't know, even with the same steady, reassuring confidence he always packed it full of. Shifting slightly he reached up to her, taking her arm in his hand and pulling her down beside him. Instinctively, she nestled herself against him, taking in all his warmth and familiarity in a slow, practiced breath. "You'll be a great father, Natsu."
He turned to her then, his eyes more serious this time. "You'll be a great mom. Besides, we're a team, aren't we?" he took her right hand and squeezed, pressing his calloused thumb against her guildmark gently.
"We are," she agreed, her voice softer as their fingers linked. Somehow, she thought, it all seemed less scary with him here beside her. And he always was beside her, she realized as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. He always had been, and even if she knew they were both way in over their heads, at least they would get through any challenges the future brought together.
They always did.